Allocation draw Eurovision 2018: Australia in first half of second semi

The semi final allocation draw for the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest has given Australia a place in the first half of the second semi final. They are in the same show as strong nations such as Russia, Romania, Sweden, Ukraine and Hungary.

With that, the second semi final with only 18 countries, seems to be the toughest of the two shows. We will come with a good in-depth analysis later today.

How the draw worked

The 37 semi-final competing countries have been divided and distributed into 6 pots specially for the draw. The distribution of the countries in the 6 pots has been based on historic voting patterns. Countries with similar tastes go in the same pot to avoid unbalanced semi finals.

The Big 5 (Italy, France, UK, Spain and Germany) countries and host country Portugal will vote in the semi finals too. A draw determined which country will vote in which show. In the end, the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal will broadcast and vote along in semi final 1. Germany, Italy and France will join in semi 2.

Prior to the draw, the Host Insignia Handover Ceremony was held. In this ceremony, mayor Vitali Klitschko from Kiev officially handed over the rights to host the contest to the mayor of Lisbon, Fernando Medina.